A picture is worth a thousand words.

Julius- 10 & 11 months update

Over the space of a month, Julius’ development has exploded and progressed at lightning speed. He likes cruising along the couch, our bed and spends a significant amount of time each day circling the coffee table and his cot. He can stand on his own, squat down and stand up again and has been doing this repeatedly for quite some time now. He does lots of clapping, waving bye, pointing, and responds to our requests for fly kiss and a host of other “tricks” that we’ve been teaching him.

He has developed a sizeable memory bank and is extrememly aware of his surrounding these days. His circle of trust has expanded to include his cousin Addy and 二姨, as his eyes lit up in instant recognition and he’d greet them wtih a happy cheer whenever he sees them. While he is still generous with his smiles – he hasn’t display that many signs of separation anxiety – he is slowly becoming more selective of people whom he’d allow to carry him.

On the linguistic front, he’s been making an array of sounds. He’d go ba-ba-ba one moment and neh-neh-neh the other. He is able to say mum-mum when he is hungry, and on several occasions, acknowledged my presence with a loud and clear Mama or Ma-mi. His first real word is “buk” (book), followed by bird and ball. Ever since he “discovered” his voice, he has been experimenting with his vocal range by shrieking whenever he gets excited or angry. There is nary a quiet moment at home with the little guy these days!

He has 6 teeth now and is eating pretty well. I am very pleased with the progress he has made in the feeding department. He also guzzles water readily, something I learn not to take for granted.

A week before he turns one, Julius took his first step. He was playing in our room and I was seated on the floor a few steps away when he took my clapping as a cue and started tottering towards me with an impish grin. One-two-three, before flinging himself into my waiting arms, his face flushed with relief and excitement! Four tiny BIG steps, yet another milestone!

As the days go by, he gets increasingly aware of and curious about the things going on around him. He loves his daily walk(s) at the park where he’d point to birdies and doggies animatedly. And when we are out on our regular grocery trips to the mall, he’d observe the world contentedly from the comfort of the carrier.

He enjoys interactive play now and would repeat actions and sounds he knows will elicit a response from us. When we say “Giddyup” he’d kick and bounce as if he is riding a horse and flash the happiest grin when doing it. He will point to his precious bird, fish and pinwheel when prompted and look at the direction of the front door when he hears “gai-gai”. He understands “No” very early on and would stop briefly whatever he is doing or about to do, look over to give a part defiant part mischievous look before proceeding with it. He gives the most affectionate kisses to Brown Bear, Chick Chick and more recently to Daddy and Mommy.

Julius has a knack for imitating sounds that we make. He’d scrunch his nose and sniff and snort, smack his lips, make hissing and swishing sounds, and does a particularly impressive blubber lips. I love mucking around with him on the bed post diaper change, singing silly Cantonese nursery rhymes, blowing raspberries on his tummy, and just taking in his baby scent and infectious chuckles, all the while wishing for the moment to last forever.

He is a big fan of the Baby Signing Time series and has been watching it since he was six months old. He especially love the “Pets I Love”, “Diaper Dance”, “Here I Go”, “Strolling”, “Stop and Go”, and “Opposites” segments. Whenever they come on, he’d point to the screen and bounce up and down happily. He can sign “eat”, “hat”, “dog”, “tree”, “leaf”, “milk” and “bye” though some are not exactly sign in the most accurate manner.

Bath time is becoming more challenging with his increasing mobility. He climbs in and out of the bath tub and crawls all over. Good thing that he’s pretty cool with water pouring over his head so we’ve since ditched the tub for shower. At 11 months, I introduced formula for his afternoon milk feed. So far, he seems pretty flexible switching between breast and formula milk. I think we are weaning at a nice and comfortable pace.